How we got here.
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This team is now special. They were before, but they have now cemented a legacy. And, now, this week has been a great time for reflection.
What I’ve been awe struck by is how many things had to happen to put this special team together.
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Devonte - Not only did he have to born and raised by a VERY young mother, he could have just as easily been an App State Mountaineer. Yet somehow Bill was the only Blue Blood to swoop in and steal a NPOY candidate. Simply amazing story and an amazing person.
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Doke - Raised by Christians in a war torn African country, he is not only lucky to be alive, but lucky he was tall enough that someone saw basketball potential in him and was able to ship him out of there. Had JoJo not put in a good word for us, he could have just as easily been at FSU.
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Newman - The plan didn’t go right. He was supposed to go to MSU, show off his scoring ability, and be in the lottery. Didn’t happen. Somehow, Bill gets a second chance to recruit this guy and lands him. He had struggles all season and could have just as easily thrown in the towel. But the staff kept pushing him, and now we are looking at a scorer that can’t be stopped.
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Svi - We took a chance on a 16 year old from Ukraine that we never saw play in person. Convinced him and his parents that shipping that youngster thousands of miles away was what was best for him. Turns out, it might have been. But a kid who could have easily been playing pro ball in Europe right this second, took a chance on Bill and on KU.I hope he reaches his NBA dreams.
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Vick - Original commit to SMU. Larry continues to impact KU basketball to this day. He shipped him on up to Lawrence instead. He thought about playing High School ball another season instead of coming to KU, but chose to come instead. And I think it is safe to say that the extra season under Self and at the college level has helped him a lot.
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De Sousa - The kid was playing High School basketball three and a half months ago. Somehow Bill has turned him into the 2nd best big on this roster in a short time, when Bill has been known to bring Freshmen bigs along slowly. Not only that, but again, somehow De Sousa had to end up in the good ole USA. And there had to be a scholarship available for him to even be able to play for KU. What was once a heavy Maryland lean on the recruiting sites, is now a strong backup to Doke. Would Preston have been able to be unselfish enough to allow this run to happen? I don’t know. But I know that somehow, Silvio was in the right spot at the right time.
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Mitch - From KC originally. Moved to Arizona. Once he proved he could play D1 ball, all the big boys were after him. He could have been a contributing piece to an Arizona team or even a starter for a lesser school. Yet he chose to come be apart of this tradition.He knew he would have to take a back seat for at least his first few years. And he shows it with this bench celebrations and overall enthusiasm for being a Jayhawk. Thank goodness he is such an unselfish player.
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Garrett - The grinder.The hustler. Mr. Defense. Again, he knew coming here he would have a tough time cracking the rotation. He knew his limitations. He went from PG to playing the 4, and didn’t show an ounce of disdain. He wanted to come be apart of something special, and now he is. Again, a more selfish player wouldn’t have come here. They would have stayed closer to home and gone somewhere he could have played PG and been a starter. Well, Mr. Garrett, now you are headed back to Texas as one of the last 4 remaining. the definition of a guy who will do whatever it takes to win.
I still just can’t believe Bill was able to align the stars with this bunch. This group is special.
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I’M FIRED UP
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@BShark Easily going to be the longest 26 and a half hours I’ve had in a long time.
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I’ve officially started losing sleep over it…super excited.
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@Kcmatt7 long, long hours - - but hey we are down to 25 now lol
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Oh ya what will help some is I think I heard they are having some kind of a 4 hour deal guess it will be tomorrow before the games - plus we have the Michigan Loyola games to pass some time too. - -Hopefully Devonte will come out with his game face tomorrow - he is HUGE very key for us in this game - -he hasn’t really had a good game yet in the tourney. I got a feeling he just might get it back tomorrow , we are going to need everyone. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
